


The Discovery

by vanillalime



Series: Oz Advent 2016 [7]
Category: Oz (TV)
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, Christmas Presents, Gen, Oz Advent 2016, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 22:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8818402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillalime/pseuds/vanillalime
Summary: Young Ryan and Cyril are woken up by noises in their house on Christmas Eve.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Crossposted from my LiveJournal as part of my 2016 Oz-themed advent calendar countdown.

A loud, crashing sound woke Ryan up. He froze for a moment as the possibilities ran through his mind. Then he realized that the stuffed parrot he'd won at the county fair last summer was jammed uncomfortably against his back. He picked it up and threw it over the edge of his bunk.  
  
"Ryan?" Cyril whispered from below. Apparently the noise had woken him up, too.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you think that's Santa?"  
  
Another sound, louder than before, travelled through the house.  
  
Ryan stared at their bedroom's closed door. He'd begun to think the whole Santa-thing was a ruse, but now he was wasn't so sure.  
  
"I don't know, Cyril," he answered. "Maybe."  
  
"I sure hope he brings me that electric train," Cyril mumbled sleepily.  
  
"Well, one thing's for sure," Ryan told him. "Santa won't leave you anything if you don't go back to sleep."  
  
The noises ceased, and Cyril's breathing grew slow and heavy again. Then Ryan heard more sounds, muffled and softer than before, but the sounds of activity nonetheless.  
  
Ryan sat up and slung a leg over the edge of his bed. He stepped onto the ladder and climbed down to the floor. He looked at Cyril, confirmed that he was sound asleep, then crept cautiously toward the door.  
  
He opened it up and stepped into the hallway. Quietly closing the door behind him, he started to tip-toe toward the living room. Then he froze in place when he heard a pronounced thud, followed by a harsh, "Goddammit."  
  
Ryan's heart sank. He knew that voice. And it didn't belong to Santa Claus.  
  
He peeked around the corner just in time to see his father kick something under the tree, spilling beer from the can in his hand as he did so.  
  
As Ryan disappeared behind a chair, Seamus O'Reily unleashed more profanities. Then he stumbled out of the room, oblivious to Ryan's presence, and made his way down the hall. Ryan heard a door open and shut, then all was still.  
  
He got up and walked over to the tree. A multitude of wrapped packages had been spread haphazardly near its base. But there were also bits and pieces of train tracks and model buildings and miniature people strewn from one end of the tree to the corner of the room. A large black locomotive engine, three train cars, and a red caboose lay nearby, still in their box.  
  
Ryan shook his head and got to work.  
  
The next morning, Cyril was overcome with joy upon discovering that Santa had come through, granting him his biggest wish.  
  
"I don't believe it!" he cried in excitement. "Santa's amazing! He even put it all together for me!"  
  
Propped up in his recliner, Seamus rubbed a hand across his face. Looking perplexed, he slurred, "Yeah, that Santa's amazing, all right."  
  
A grin broke out over Ryan's face as he searched for a package with his own name on it.  
  
He didn't really care what Santa had brought him. He'd already gotten the best present.


End file.
